Rigid process management was yesterday! With Human Workflow Management, processes are brought to life by running them through a system in real time. We test the new Human Workflow feature from Bpanda and show you that standard processes can be flexibly adapted while they are being run through. What we particularly like about Human Workflow Management is that at the end of the process, key figures are available for the process runs. Through this data analysis, the processes can be continuously improved.

Why document processes?

All too often, the topic of process documentation is associated with dusty, unlived processes as well as a certain loss of flexibility and thus design freedom. The benefits for the individual employee are not very tangible, but from the company's point of view they are considerable. 

By analyzing standard processes within a continuous improvement process, quality is continuously improved. However, where there is no data on standard processes, there can be no analysis or improvement. A data-driven company is based on modeled, analyzable processes. Likewise, digitization with partially or fully automated processes cannot be implemented if they are not available in modeled form. 

The crux of classic process documentation

The benefits of process management seem convincing. But why do these benefits often fail to materialize and the processes languish unlived on some intranet pages?

Usually, the process architect determines the process flows in individual meetings, then creates the process documentation, which is released and published. But what happens now, if the processes do not correspond to the lived reality, if documents or process steps are added later? Often a "shadow documentation" is created. The process participants help themselves without adapting the process documentation - creating process documentation, but not living and adapting it afterwards means double inefficiency and the benefit is 0.

Process documentation 2.0

Human Workflow Management means IT-supported process execution and addresses precisely this challenge. In contrast to digitization, where the aim is full automation, human workflow continues to focus on people. However, those involved in the process are supported by an IT system.

Human Workflow Management is particularly suitable:

• For processes that are repetitive and involve many people
• Interdepartmental processes
• When deadlines must be met

can be easily adapted to each run, one can see at any time where the process stands and can then make evaluations with the available data on throughput times, deviations from the standard process, etc. The processes are automatically documented, can be evaluated and, compared to non-system-supported process documentation, allow much more room for adjustments. This significantly increases the acceptance of process management in the company and its added value can be fully exploited.

Living example process - from the product idea to the store shelf
 

Bpanda launched a human workflow feature called "Jobs" in March of this year. This gives all users of Bpanda the ability to run their processes, previously created in BPMN 2.0, live sequentially in real time and work off of them.

To show you exactly how the tool works and what it can do, we would like to show you a concrete use case.

Process: launch of a new product.
Company:  Retailer that has stores in high-traffic locations such as train stations and sells mainly convenience food.

In Bpanda, processes can be easily modeled in tabular form (see above). In this way, each task is automatically mapped in a lane and can later be modeled in the Modeler with decision branches etc. according to BPMN 2.0. 

The standard process for product introduction looks like this:
 

The process is now recorded in Bpanda as a job and run through live by all process participants. It can be seen at any time which person has the process. Each process participant receives the message for new tasks in his Bpanda Protal and by mail. If a process step is completed by the person responsible, it is automatically passed on to the next person responsible for the process step. The user interface is reminiscent of a Whatsapp history and is intuitive to use. Individual information can be passed on to the next process participant using the comment function.

Furthermore, there is the possibility to add new process steps. In our process run in Jobs, a deviation from the standard process occurred. After the product requirement profile was already created, an adjustment occurred and so a new process step "Adjust product requirement profile" was added.

After the process has been completed by the person responsible for the process, the evaluation of the throughput time of the job is available.

Our conclusion of the new Human Workflow feature from Bpanda: Simple and very flexible support for processes that are handled frequently and by different departments. Through the flexible addition of new process steps and the communication possibility through the chat function, processes really come to life. In addition to the transparency of the process steps and the efficiency gain through partial automation, the great benefit of such human workflow management tools is that data such as process costs can be analyzed more precisely. As a data-driven company, this enables a continuous improvement process. 

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